Transport all household hazardous waste in your vehicle's bed, trunk, or hatchback, not the passenger compartment. Since extra safety measures will be in place, unloading may take a few additional minutes. Please be patient, and please remain in your car.

Columbia County is hosting a county-sponsored Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Collection Event on Saturday, August 27, 2022, from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. The HHW Collection Event will take place at the Columbia County Transfer Station located at 1061 Railroad Avenue in St. Helens. You can drop off various toxic and unsafe household materials at no cost.

Trained household hazardous waste technicians will unload materials from your vehicle. Items must be in containers of less than five (5) gallons and should be secured safely during transport. 

Examples of acceptable items are:

• fireworks and flares
• gas / diesel / fuels / motor oil / antifreeze
• lawn and garden chemicals
• herbicides and pesticides
• pool and spa chemicals
• light ballasts—must be removed from light fixtures
• fluorescent tubes
• art and hobby chemicals
• solvents and thinners
• items containing mercury
• propane and compressed gas cylinders
• batteries - automotive, rechargeable, button, alkaline batteries
• cleaners and detergents
• poisons
• paint and paint products (latex and acrylic paint, oil-based paint, enamel, stains, lacquers, shellacs, varnishes, primers, etc.)
• cooking oil
• medical sharps in OSHA-approved, puncture-proof containers
• ammunition

Unwanted paint, used motor oil, and used cooking oil can be disposed of free of charge at any time during the Transfer Station's regular business hours. The normally-charged disposal of automotive batteries, antifreeze, and fluorescent tubes at the Transfer Station is also free during this event. 

Medical sharps in a sealed, self-closing, puncture-proof, OSHA-approved container are received, at no cost, at the Transfer Station Scale House during business hours. Columbia County residents can enroll in the FREE Sharps Containers Exchange Program at the Transfer Station Scale House.

The Columbia County Sheriff's Office accepts expired or unwanted medication at 901 Port Ave., St. Helens. They are open 7 days per week, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Place items in the MedReturn collection box. 

The county will host two more household hazardous waste events in 2022: Clatskanie on October 1 and the Transfer Station in St Helens on October 22. Please check the Columbia County website for further updates https://www.columbiacountyor.gov/departments/SolidWaste/hhw-schedule.

For more information, contact Kathy Boutin-Pasterz by phone at 503-397-7259 or email at kathleen.boutin-pasterz@columbiacountyor.gov.

###

ABOUT COLUMBIA COUNTY'S SOLID WASTE PROGRAM

Columbia County plans, organizes, and directs recycling, reuse, waste reduction, and household hazardous waste management programs throughout its 657 square-mile area. In addition, the county operates a transfer station in St. Helens and administers the solid waste collection events within the county's unincorporated areas.